WINTER WEATHER
Porzingis still working through another tough midseason stretch
Through three quarters Sunday, Kristaps Porzingis and the Knicks were feeling good. The final 17 minutes of what became a 123118 overtime loss to the Pelicans, however, served up a reminder that the Knicks’ cornerstone is still learn ing. Porzingis was scoreless in the fourth quarter, shooting 0-for-4 from the field, and then made just 1-of-3 shots in the overtime while the man he was guarding, Anthony Davis, took over for a 48-point night. “So, so many similar games like this,” Porzingis said. “It’s painful. We need to do a better job at the end of games. It’s simple. They made some good plays, but today one quote popped through my mind. It was, ‘A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor.’ So we just have to stay positive and try to find something positive.”
Porzingis finished the game with 25 points on 10-of-24 shooting, six rebounds, five steals and three assists. But looming large were a pair of shots that he didn’t make that could have saved the Knicks from the end result.
With the Knicks leading 109-107 near the end of regulation and coming out of a timeout, Porzingis got off a running jumper from the free-throw line with 10.9 seconds left that went down as an airball. It allowed Davis to tie the game at the other end and send the game to overtime.
Then in the extra period, with the Knicks trailing 121-118 and again coming out of a timeout, Porzingis got free around a screen for a 3, but it clanked off the rim.
“You want to make every big shot you get,” Porzingis said. “It was a great look. My teammates got me open, big shot, just missed it.”
For the 7-foot-3 Latvian, playing his third year in the NBA, it’s still a process.
“I think at the beginning of the season, I was free, I was playing my game and things seemed to happen so smoothly,” Porzingis said. “There were moments where there were all kinds of different defenses, the attention was on me and I felt like I still had to put up the same numbers. Now I’m starting to realize that it doesn’t need to be that way. I can just let the game flow ... not try to force and get those numbers.
“That’s not the main thing for us. The main thing is for us to win. If I just make the right plays, even if I score 15 or 20, and we win the game, that’s better than trying to force things and trying to get that basket for the team. It takes a lot of energy to do that. I’m learning this year, I’m learning a lot.”